The Sister Season By Jennifer Scott

Sometimes you pick up a book with certain expectations on what you will find within the covers. You read the back cover and the synopsis to form a snapshot of what is inside. But then, as you read the book, it becomes so much more than what you expected. That is the best part about reading! Finding a book that you go into with one expectation and coming out of it with a total different view. Finding a book where the author can transport you into the lives of others is a gift and I was thankful to be able to experience that with this book I was asked to review.

THE SISTER SEASON By Jennifer Scott
(NAL Trade Paperback Original; November 2013)

Synopsis:
Sometimes coming home for the holidays isn’t as easy as it seems….

It’s December 21, and the Yancey sisters have been called home. When the girls were young, holidays at their family farm meant a tinsel-garnished tree, the scent of simmering food, and laughter ringing through the house. But as the years unfolded, family bonds fractured, and the three sisters scattered and settled into separate lives. Until now. The Yancey sisters are coming to spend the holidays with their mother. They’re also coming to bury their father.

Claire, the youngest, a free spirit who journeyed to California, returns first. Then comes Julia, the eldest, a college professor with a teenage son of her own. And finally there’s Maya, the middle child, who works so hard to be the perfect mother and wife.

During the sisters’ week together, old conflicts surface, new secrets emerge, and the limits and definitions of family are tested. And as the longest night of the year slips by and brightening days beckon, the sisters will have to answer one question: When you’re a sister, aren’t you a sister forever?

My Thoughts: We all have family strife in one form or another. Our family history forms who we are and what we do, consciously or subconsciously. I have issues with my family and so do you. The difference is how we handle them and who we become because of it.

This book is a shining star when it comes to family issues. Every person in this story has something they are hiding but they all agree on one thing; their father and husband was an abusive jerk that caused misery in many forms for them all and now they are supposed to be sad he is gone? Especially at Christmas when they all have different plans for the holiday and going home is the last thing the sisters want to do.

The author has crafted a story line that merges 3 sisters and their mom into their family home to mourn and deal with the passing of their father and husband. But they also bring with them their own family issues and drama that is bent on a collision course for them all. After all, it has been 10 years since they all were together. Each sister has a secret and the author does a brilliant job in telling the story in such a way that you feel like you are right there, experiencing all of the strife, uncomfortable feelings and dislike the sisters have bottled up inside.

This book is not written to be a sad story, and the author could have taken it that way as I expected it to be. But rather she shares a story that is insightful into the issues that many families deal with on a regular basis. Family is family and even within that, many members of family do not know their siblings at all. Those who appear the strongest often have a lot of pain within.

I love the way the author crafted this story. You get a bit of insight into each person with their intense feelings, plenty of drama and heart wrenching issues and along with hope at the end too. After all sisters are sisters always, in the end.

Disclaimer: Chris has personally reviewed the product listed above. She has not received any monetary compensation for her review but did receive a free product to try out so she could evaluate and use it for her review. Her thoughts & opinions in this review are unbiased & honest and your opinions may differ.